E&OE..................
Well thank you very much Mr Pederson. To my Ministerial colleague Nick Minchin,
to Senator Stott-Despoja, Deputy Leader of the Australian Democrats, other
Parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
Tonight is an opportunity to do a number of things. It's an opportunity
for me on behalf of the Government, and I'm sure on behalf of the Australian
people to record the immense respect and admiration I have for the on going
contribution that engineers of all kinds and of all shapes and sizes make
to the strength, not only the economic strength but also the social and
physical infrastructure of the Australian community.
There are many things that Australians do extremely well, and we were reminded
of our proficiency on a sporting field of course today. I've never been
through a less focused Question Time than I was this afternoon, and I can
assure you the lack of focus was totally bipartisan. But ladies and gentlemen,
there are many things that this country does well and I've had occasions
over the past few months to not so much coin the phrase, but repeat the
concept of a can-do country. That is a country which focuses on achieving
outcomes which are to the benefit of the entire community. And amongst the
many things that Australians do extremely well is that we are very good
builders and very good engineers. And of course the two go hand in hand
together.
I've had many memorable weekends as Prime Minister of this country visiting
the many different parts of our community. But none has exceeded in interest
and absorption and sheer Australian pride than the weekend I spent only
recently in joining with many others, including many here tonight, to celebrate
the 50th anniversary of the commencement of the construction
of the Snowy Mountain Scheme. That remains to this day one of the great
engineering feats of the world. It is certainly Australia's proudest engineering
achievement. Not only was it a great engineering triumph, but of course
it was a great personal triumph for the thousands of people who worked there
and a great national triumph for the Australian nation and our openness
and our tolerance and our capacity to blend together very quickly in the
Australian environment people from so many different parts of the world
who came to this country after the Second World War to make it their home.
When I think forward, and I look forward to the 21st Century,
I can see a role for engineering, particularly in our part of the world
which will even surpass the contribution that it has made over the last
50 years. I predict now that Australian engineers and Australian expertise
will be increasingly in demand in South-East Asia and in the Asian-Pacific
region. Our standards of excellence, our reliability and our capacity and
our technical expertise is without parallel. And the contribution that the
engineering schools of our various universities will make to producing the
graduates, and in time the practical engineers, will play a very major role
in the economic thrust of Australia into the region immediately adjacent
to us.
It remains of tremendous importance that all of us do what we can to encourage
the study of science and engineering both in our schools and in our universities.
It is true, as the Chairman said, that I have derived incredible stimulus
and insight and knowledge from the Prime Minister's Science and Engineering,
or Science and Innovation Council as it's now called. It's brought home
to me as somebody not trained in the discipline of engineering or science,
the integral role that that discipline, or those disciplines play in our
daily life, and the interconnectedness of engineering and scientific skill
to the economic and social wellbeing of our community. And the experience
chairing that council has brought me into contact with the best engineering
and science minds in Australia. And on display to me every time that council
meets is the enormous depth of talent that this country has been able to
draw on in that area, and the ongoing contribution that it has made and
continues to make to our community.
So tonight is therefore an opportunity for me as Prime Minister and collectively
for the nation to honour and salute the contribution of Australia's engineers
to the wellbeing of our society. It's also an opportunity for you to salute
and honour those amongst you who have excelled in a particular way. It is
important that every discipline, every group in our community pause for
a moment and honour those who've been particularly good and those who have
achieved a special level of excellence, and tonight you will have a splendid
opportunity to do that.
Engineering is part of the history of this country from the very beginning
and it will be a very integral part of the future of this country. And in
a symbolic way to capture that the institute has decided, and they've asked
me to announce tonight, something that will in a symbolic way link the skills
of engineers and the specialty of engineering with the history and the important
events in the history of this country. And I'm pleased to announce that
with funding from the National Council for the Centenary of Federation,
and Dick Smith, who's no mean achiever in his own right as Chairman of that
council, and Tony Eggleton, the Director of that council, both of whom who
are here tonight. But they've taken on a project that provides a wonderful
opportunity for communities around Australia to make their mark on history
for the 100th anniversary of nationhood in 2001.
Many of you will be aware, I don't know whether any of you remember from
personal experience, that in the late 19th century arches were
a popular form of street decoration for public celebration in the then Australian
colonies. The celebrations associated with the inauguration of the Commonwealth
of Australia on the 1st of January 1901, and the opening of the
first federal Parliament in Melbourne, the arches were grander and more
extravagant than ever before. And around Australia at that time organisations
and communities designed and erected a wide array of arches. There was the
floral welcome arch, the wool arch, the Aboriginal arch, and the weed arch,
the citizen's arch, the firemen's arch, and the apple arch. There was a
railway arch, a rustic arch and a butter arch, which melted incidentally.
And then there was the Chinese, the French and the American arch. And all
of those arches, particularly the butter one, were temporary, being dismantled
within days of the federation celebrations. But in planning and erecting
them citizens of the new nation were expressing something of who they were
and something of their aspirations for Australia.
So appropriately for the year 2001 the Institution of Engineers and the
National Council for the Federation have developed a nationwide project
to encourage people to revisit their nation's history and the idea of creating
an arch. By decorating the arches in many and varied styles throughout the
community, we'll be telling a significant story of who we are today as our
nation celebrates its 100th birthday. Using specially designed
kits provided naturally by the institute of engineers, school groups, community
organisations, professional associations and others, will commemorate the
centenary of federation by creating their own piece of unique centenary
memorabilia. The Chairman of the National Council Dick Smith, as I mentioned
is here tonight, and I know Dick is very enthusiastic about this project
and about the opportunity it offers all Australians to celebrate the nation's
history and achievements.
The Federation Arches Project will also involve a competition for engineering
students to design the Australia arch to be installed in Canberra on Federation
between the old and new Parliament House as part of the finale event for
the centenary year in 2001. So I therefore encourage all of you in the engineering
profession to support both elements of the Federation Arches Project, and
in so doing commemorate in a very tangible and relevant way not only the
history of our nation but also the contribution made by engineers through
the building of the modern Australia, and also as a signal into the future
of the contribution that all of you will make to the future.
I welcome you to Parliament House in Canberra. I honour the contribution
of engineers to the development of the Australian nation. This is a magnificent
gala occasion and I congratulate in advance all of those who will be given
awards for their tremendous contribution within their chosen profession.
[Ends]